


don't leave me in the dark

by cantfoolajoker (lichmutual)



Series: hauntober 2020 prompts [1]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Ambiguous Post-Canon, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Gen, Halloween, Hauntober Prompts, M/M, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lichmutual/pseuds/cantfoolajoker
Summary: A collection of ficlets related to Halloween for the Hauntober prompts, focusing on select members of the Persona 3 cast.
Relationships: Amada Ken & Aragaki Shinjiro, Amada Ken & Sanada Akihiko, Aragaki Shinjiro & Kirijo Mitsuru, Aragaki Shinjiro & Kirijo Mitsuru & Sanada Akihiko, Aragaki Shinjiro/Sanada Akihiko, Kirijo Mitsuru & Sanada Akihiko
Series: hauntober 2020 prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988599
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	1. directory

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted [here](https://tumblr.com/https://cantfoolajoker.tumblr.com/tagged/%2A-hauntober-prompts-2020/chrono) on my tumblr for 31 days of halloween ficlets. this compilation is specifically all the p3 related prompts.
> 
> the first "chapter" will be the directory for those who want to skip to the ones they want to read!

**I. one. pumpkin** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

**II. four. candy apples** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

**III. five. moonlight** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

**IV. seven. haunted** — _amada ken & sanada akihiko_

**V. nine. stars** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

**VI. eleven. nightmare** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

**VII. fourteen. spider** — _aragaki shinjiro & mitsuru kirijo_

**VIII. sixteen. moth** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

**IX. twenty one. garden** — _amada ken &_ _aragaki shinjiro_

**X. twenty two. cauldron** — _amada ken & akihiko sanda_

**XI. twenty three. candle** — _kirijo mitsuru & sanada akihiko_

**XII. twenty six. horns + twenty nine. vampires** — _aragaki shinjiro & kirijo mitsuru & sanada akihiko_

**XIII. twenty seven. ghost** — _aragaki shinjiro & kirijo mitsuru_

**XIV. thirty one. celebrate** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_


	2. pumpkin

**one. pumpkin** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

“I - I’m not doing anything!”

Shinjiro gives Ken a quirked eyebrow. “I… wasn’t gonna ask you what you were doing.”

He’d just wandered into the living room of the small apartment, deciding to make a snack for himself while he was filling out medical paperwork when Ken’s immediate outburst at his presence put him on pause.

“Is…. there something you want to tell m-“

“No!” Ken responds, face turning red.

Shinjiro knew Ken pretty well, or at least that’s what he thought anyway. He guesses if he just moves on like nothing happened Ken would bring it up on his own.

“Okay,” Shinjiro nods his head and moves to the little kitchenette in the corner of the room. 

It hadn’t even been a minute into preparing when he saw Ken had inched closer out of the corner of his eyes.

“You want somethin’ to eat too?”

“Uh… sure.”

Shinjiro stays silent, making a basic trail mix to eat that was on the healthier side. He made sure to add some candy chocolates into Ken’s also knowing Ken would hate the totally healthy option.

“Uh… Aragaki-san?”

“I told you you don’t have to call me that.”

“Oh.” Ken pauses. “...Shinjiro-san?”

_I guess._ “What?”

“Can we get this for Koromaru?”

Shinjiro looks over to see Ken holding up a magazine with a picture of a dog in a pumpkin costume. The immediate image brought a smile to Shinjiro’s face, one he couldn’t help, and he tries to squash it as fast as he could with some success.

“Yeah — yeah, sure. We can get that for Koro-ch — Koromaru.” He’s still struggling to hold the smile down.

Ken’s face brightens. “Really? Thank you, Aragaki-san!” He pauses. “Er, Shinjiro-san.”

Shinjiro only huffs out a laugh as he hands Ken a bowl of trail mix and ruffles his hair affectionately.


	3. candy apples

**four. candy apples** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

“Hey — be careful of the caramel! It’s hot!” Shinjiro tells Ken, quickly moving to assist in stirring the pot and avoiding any little hands from getting more burn marks. He already felt bad about the singular bandaid on Ken’s arm from earlier, which had the emblems of his favorite cartoon on it.

“Uh, I can take the apples out and dry them!” Ken says quickly, rushing around Shinjiro to the sink and standing on his designated step stool to do just that.

“Hey, that smells good,” Akihiko comments as he pokes his head into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear.

“Outta the kitchen, Aki.”

“Whatever you say, Shinji,” he says as he starts to walk away.

Ken can’t contain his small laugh at the two and Shinjiro rolls his eyes at Akihiko’s attitude.

He pulls the caramel off the hot stovetop and continues to stir. “You got the apples ready?”

Ken makes a small noise and pulls the apples out of the strainer, tossing them quickly to ensure all the water was off of them before pulling them out. “They’re ready!”

“Let me show you how to coat them,” Shinjiro says, grabbing a stick, and he does as he says, demonstrating to Ken how to safely coat the apples in caramel by dipping them in while attached to a stick. “You can decorate it however,” he says after, motioning to the toppings they had settled on the counter.

“You’re not going to decorate yours, Shinjiro-san?”

Shinjiro pauses, and he offers it to Ken. “You can decorate it for me.”

Ken’s eyes match the smile on his face as he grabs the first candy apple and begins to decorate it, much to Shinjiro’s amusement at how much sweets he was piling on.


	4. moonlight

**five. moonlight** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

“You still up, Aki?” Shinjiro questions, bumping shoulders with him in greeting upon finding him standing at the window.

“Yeah.” Akihiko pauses, bumping his shoulder back in retaliation. “The moon’s real nice tonight.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.”

Shinjiro could tell whenever Akihiko was lost in thought, since he tended to reply shorter and less enthusiastic. “Got somethin’ on your mind?”

Akihiko hums and he shrugs. “You put Ken to bed already, yeah?”

“Not really put him to bed. I suggested it and he agreed because he was falling asleep on the couch,” Shinjiro responds, which earns an affectionate chuckle from Akihiko.

There’s a beat of silence, and Akihiko leans against Shinjiro. “You know, the moonlight really looks nice on you. It reminds me of your eyes.”

“....That’s some corny shit, Aki.”

Akihiko blushes and moves to wrap an arm around him, but not before thwapping him. “Shut up. I was trying to be romantic.”

Shinjiro laughs, keeping his tone down as to not wake Ken up. “Nice try.”

“Thanks, asshole.”

Shinjiro laughs more, struggling now, and he puts his face into Akihiko’s shoulder to muffle his laughter. Akihiko only sighs through his nose and rubs Shinjiro’s side, enjoying the moment and the moonlight.


	5. haunted

**seven. haunted** — _amada ken & sanada akihiko_

“You sure you wanna go into the haunted house, Ken?” Akihiko questions, giving an incredulous look.

Ken looks like he’s fighting off a pout, puffing out his chest. “I’m not a scaredy-cat! I can handle it!”

Akihiko raises an eyebrow and starts walking toward the ticket seller. “Alright. Come on then and we’ll go inside.” There’s a pause as he reads the sign in front. “Oh look, we get a free commemorative picture too! We can show Shinji it later.”

Ken huffs and follows after Akihiko, making his annoyance clear.

The haunted house wasn’t much to Akihiko, but he could tell Ken was scared. He kept close to Akihiko and refused to let him out of his sight. Akihiko couldn’t decide whether to humor him and keep him close or pretend he hadn’t noticed anything at all; Shinjiro was always better at reading how to treat Ken in the moment.

When they finally made it to the exit, there was a little backdrop and picture station for them to take a photo. Upon receiving the final product, Akihiko grins and shows Ken it.

“You’re actually smiling!” He teases, but Ken’s expression has fallen.

“T — There’s a — !”

He’s pointing at the ghostly figure added in the backdrop behind them.

“Hm?” Akihiko leans in closer. “I don’t see anything at all,” he lies.

Ken huffs and smacks him in the arm, face red with anger. Akihiko laughs and rubs the spot with feigned injury.

“That hurt,” he says, unable to hide his grin.

“You’re mean,” Ken tells him, and he sticks his tongue out and promptly leaves without waiting for Akihiko to follow.


	6. stars

**nine. stars** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

“Shinjiiiii.”

Shinjiro only grunts in response, barely acknowledging Akihiko.

He feels warm arms wrap around his midsection, a blanket draped around said arms. “It’s cold. I want to go to bed,” Akihiko complains, pressing his forehead into Shinjiro’s back.

“You know you can go to bed if you want. I’m not your parent.”

“Want you to come with me,” Akihiko clarifies, and he pulls back slightly to headbutt the spot on his back.

Shinjiro snorts and stays where he’s standing, watching out the window. There’s another headbutt. And then another.

Finally, Akihiko lifts his head and rests it on his shoulder, peering over and out the window. “What’re you looking at?”

“The stars.”

“Oh.”

Shinjiro is careful when he shrugs so as to not accidentally shoulder Akihiko’s jaw. “It’s not often the sky is clear and they’re visible.”

“Wouldn’t they just be satellites or something?”

Shinjiro hums carefully. “Maybe.”

He turns around to face Akihiko, and a rare smile graces his features. “If I need a star anyway, I can just look at you.”

With that, he makes his way to their bedroom, leaving a flustered and startled Akihiko behind. 

“Hey, wait — you can’t just — _Shinji!_ ”


	7. nightmare

**eleven. nightmare** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

Shinjiro stayed up late at night, even when he knew he’d inevitably wake up early in the morning to cook breakfast for Ken and Akihiko. Akihiko was fast asleep in their room with Koromaru and Shinjiro was up cleaning the dishes in the kitchen.

He hears the sound of soft footsteps.

“Shinjiro….?” Ken mumbles, using the corner of the wall to lean against and peer out at Shinjiro from the gentle darkness of the room.

Shinjiro pauses, taking in the situation to ensure he wasn’t seeing things, and he sets down the plate he was cleaning and quickly dries his hands off before walking away from the kitchenette and around the bar seating and over to Ken.

“Hey, kid,” he responds, voice soft as he crouches to eye level. “What’s up?”

“I had a nightmare…” Ken informs him, rubbing his eyes as he speaks.

Shinjiro hums gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Ken shakes his head quickly.

“Do you want to do anything to help fix it?”

Ken pauses, and his eyes glance over to the television.

“....Do you want to watch a Featherman rerun?” Shinjiro guesses, which is confirmed with a nod from Ken.

Shinjiro moves over to turn the television on and settles down, picking the first recorded show they had up. Ken walks over to join him, curling up into a little ball on the couch and trying to keep his space from Shinjiro like he was still upholding some ounce of “maturity” he wanted to portray himself as having. Shinjiro knew not to push it; Ken had to let his own walls down if he wanted to.

When the half-hour show had finished, Ken had ended up leaned against Shinjiro with his full body weight, fast asleep.

Shinjiro was careful when picking up Ken, not wanting to wake him up, and he made his way to Ken’s room to put him back to bed. He tucks him in and pats his head before pausing in the doorway as he goes to leave, fond.

Shinjiro accidentally ended up sleeping in that morning from staying up too late, but Akihiko and Ken let him sleep in.


	8. spider

**fourteen. spider** — _aragaki shinjiro & mitsuru kirijo_

“Are you really scared of a spider, Aragaki?”

“No,” Shinjiro huffs, crossing his arms and _still_ keeping a good distance between him and the insect. “I just don’t want to kill it.”

Mitsuru raises her eyebrow, a hand on her hip. “So…. you would be fine if I got a cup and moved it outside?”

“As long as it doesn’t come back inside.”

“How would you know if it came back inside, Aragaki?”

“I just would.”

Mitsuru shakes her head at him and moves to get a piece of paper and a cup to capture the spider in. As she’s carefully doing that, she hears a soft gasp and quick feet. “Shinjiro-san,” Ken’s voice is quiet, “Mitsuru-san is picking up a spider.”

“It’s fine, kid, Kirijo is getting rid of it,” Shinjiro assures him. When Mitsuru successfully secures the spider between her cage of choice, she turns back to see him ruffling Ken’s hair where Ken is hiding behind Shinjiro.

Mitsuru pauses before walking forward and holding the spider toward Shinjiro to test her theory.

“Hey — put that thing outside!” Shinjiro tells her, stepping away with Ken in tow, and Mitsuru’s suspicions are confirmed.

She puts on a faux innocent smile. “My apologies, I forgot where the door was.”

Shinjiro huffs and parrots her words back at her in a condescending tone, much to her amusement as she does as she promised.


	9. moth

**sixteen. moth** — _aragaki shinjiro/sanada akihiko_

“Aki, what is that even supposed to be?” 

“I think they’re somethin’ like moth wings,” Akihiko explains, turning around with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. There was indeed an insect wing pattern printed onto it, but it was hard to discern with the incredibly fluffy fabric.

“....Why did you buy this?” Shinjiro asks, tilting his head and giving a signature squinted look.

“Don’t give me that look,” Akihiko tells him, waving a hand at him which the fabric flowed along with. “You’re the one complaining about how cold it gets in the fall! What about when it hits winter?”

“So you bought a new blanket?”

“Yeah. I quite like not hearing you complain about your old man qualities. A new blanket is worth that.”

Shinjiro huffs in offense. “I’m not an old man.”

Akihiko rolls his eyes, unconvinced. “C’mon, just feel it,” he tells him, offering out his covered arm.

Shinjiro pauses before reaching forward to rub the fabric. It feels just as soft and comfortable as it looks.

“You like it?” Akihiko asks, hopeful.

“....Maybe.”

Akihiko beams at that, knowing it was a ‘yes’ from Shinjiro that he wasn’t going to outright say. Shinjiro, equally aware he has been caught, turns his head away to hide the last shred of his dignity in a faint blush.


	10. garden

**twenty one. garden** — _amada ken &_ _aragaki shinjiro_

“Shinjiro-san? How do I pull the daikon out of the ground?”

Shinjiro pauses from where he’s examining the shiitake mushrooms, looking over at Ken crouched near the farther end of their small garden plot. It was something Shinjiro had rented for his own hobbies and sometimes Ken joined him in maintaining the garden.

Shinjiro moves over, crouching next to Ken. “You grab the root like this,” he demonstrates, going through the movements as he says them, “and you do a strong tug so it gets dislodged.”

He does as he says, and the dirt jumps as the radish is pulled partially from the ground. Shinjiro has an easier time pulling it the rest of the way out and laying it down in Ken’s basket.

“Can you do that for me?”

Ken nods his head and huffs, putting on a “big kid” face as Shinjiro called it. It was the same face Ken made when he wanted to be taken seriously.

Ken goes through the movements Shinjiro had laid out for him, and while he barely struggles on pulling out the vegetable, it only takes a few more tugs for it to dislodge and for Ken to produce a daikon.

“Nice job, kid,” Shinjiro tells him, grinning, and he pats his back supportively.

Ken grins back. “What’re you gonna use all the daikon for anyway?”

“Probably make a salad or somethin’.” 

Ken makes a face at that answer, which Shinjiro laughs at as he stands up. “I promise it tastes good. Can you get the rest for me?”

“Oh! Sure!”

With that, the two go back to tending the garden, collecting the components for Shinjiro to teach Ken how to make a nice dinner later.


	11. cauldron

**twenty two. cauldron** — _amada ken & akihiko sanda_

“Now remember, Ken,” Akihiko starts, pushing back the plastic cauldron bowl filled with sweets, “You can’t have any candy until you finish your work.”

Ken is clearly fighting off a large pout, unhappy with this situation.

“Come on, don’t give me that look,” Akihiko tries to joke weakly to no avail, quieting down awkwardly when Ken’s look hasn’t changed.

“Fine,” Ken finally says, but he sounds unconvinced.

Akihiko slowly nods, getting up from the stools and the kitchen counter to walk away. “You know, I can help you with your work if you want — “

“I don’t need it, Akihiko-san.”

“Right,” he says more awkwardly, nodding as he puts his hands in his pockets. Ken slowly starts to do his homework, kicking his feet as he works.

Akihiko’s guilt wins out.

“Just — don’t tell Shinji I let you have a snack, okay?” he tells Ken, grabbing the cauldron and handing him a packet of candy before leaving. 

Ken’s joyous smile makes it well worth it to Akihiko.


	12. candle

**twenty three. candle** — _kirijo mitsuru & sanada akihiko_

“Mitsuru, can you pass the lighter?”

Mitsuru sighs through her nose as she hands over the object asked for, more careful than Akihiko was equipping it. “You should be careful with that.”

“I’m an adult,” Akihiko retorts, frowning.

“You just seem very…. eager.”

“Well, yeah.” Akihiko jerks behind him, fingers still on the lighter’s button, and Mitsuru flinches at the carelessness. “Didja see Shinji and Ken’s pumpkins? They look great!”

Mitsuru quirks an eyebrow. “I suppose the craftsmanship is nice, but….. Why?”

“Have you never heard of a jack-o’-lantern?”

A beat of silence plays between them.

“Mitsuru — ”

“I’ve never participated in events such as these,” Mitsuru calmly explains, keeping herself collected.

“Well, basically, a jack-o’-lantern is a pumpkin you carve, and then you light candles and stick ‘em in!”

“What good does that do…?”

Akihiko holds up a hand to signal her for one moment, pulling over Shinjiro’s Koromaru-themed pumpkin and pulling the top of it off. After carefully setting a candle in, he sticks the lighter through the hole and turns it on. The candle ignites and light illuminates the inside of the pumpkin, shining out through the dog carving as Akihiko puts the top back on.

“See?” he says proudly, blowing out the lighter.

Mitsuru looks at it, careful and considerate. There’s a pause before a smile appears on her features that is illuminated by the candlelight. “It is a nice decoration.”


	13. horns

**twenty six. horns** — _aragaki shinjiro & kirijo mitsuru & sanada akihiko_

“Kirijo, what is that even supposed to be?” Shinjiro asks, poking at the horns on her costume piece. Mitsuru swats at him.

“I am supposed to be a demon queen.”

“This tag says you’re a witch,” Akihiko says casually, looking at the costume bag.

“ _Excuse_ me, Akihiko?”

“I — I mean like — That’s the costume! It’s a witch!”

Mitsuru grabs the bag from Akihiko to examine it, which Shinjiro peers over her to do as well.

“So it seems.”

“What kind of witch has horns?”

“I don’t know, Aragaki.”

Shinjiro moves away to pick up the other costume bag from their purchases. “Wh — Aki, did you even look at what you picked out?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“An exorcist? Really?”

“Oh.” A pause. Akihiko wanders over to join him. “Is that what it is? I thought it was a priest.”

“That’s like, basically the same thing.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is.”

“ — You two better not start bickering,” Mitsuru comments, and she gives an icy glare, one that makes them both stop talking. After a sigh, she brushes her bangs away from her face. “Aragaki, what did you pick out?”

There’s a delayed response from Shinjiro, clearly hiding something. He reaches into the bag and pulls out a shirt that says ‘This is my Halloween costume’ neatly written on the front.

Mitsuru and Akihiko are silent.

“We’re going back to get you a costume,” Mitsuru announces, walking back into the bathroom to change.

“Wh — this is fine!”

“Hey, Shinji, maybe you can be a demon so we all match,” Akihiko jokes.

“No, I think I’m good.”

“We’re going, Aragaki,” Mitsuru says from behind the door.

Shinjiro sighs in defeat, knowing he can’t stop either of them.

* * *

**twenty nine. vampires** — _aragaki shinjiro & kirijo mitsuru & sanada akihiko_

“I said I don’t need a costume.”

“If we’re dressed up, you gotta be too, Shinji!” Akihiko told him, shoving him into the dressing room of the costume store. “C’mon, think about Ken. He hasn’t had a proper Halloween in a bit.”

“.....Fine.”

Mitsuru walks over with, huffing. “Why do you have to be so tall, Aragaki?”

“Not all of us can be graced with slender builds and short heights.” There’s heavy sarcasm to Shinjiro’s voice.

She rolls her eyes and passes one of the costume bags through the closed curtain. “I believe I found one that should fit you, if you haven’t had any sudden body changes since your last doctor’s appointment.”

Nobody talks as Shinjiro shuffles through the bag. “Oh — _seriously_ , Kirijo? I thought you had better taste.”

“Just put it on and come outside,” Mitsuru says, guiding Akihiko out of the changing room hall.

“What’d you get him, anyway?” Akihiko asks, turning to her.

She shrugs. “Oh, just a matching costume for our ensemble.”

After a few minutes, Shinjiro walks out wearing a classic gothic count vampire costume, complete with cape.

“...The fuck am I wearing?” he asks, with Mitsuru hiding behind her hand to laugh and Akihiko outwardly laughing.

“You look great, Shinji.”

“Why the hell are you both laughing?!”

“My vote has to go to this costume,” Mitsuru says, still chuckling.

“Mine does too,” Akihiko nods, grinning.

“Hey, wait a minute — I didn’t agree to this!”

“I believe that is two against one, Aragaki.” Mitsuru is shooing him back into the dressing room. “Better luck next time.”


	14. ghost

**twenty seven. ghost** — _aragaki shinjiro & kirijo mitsuru_

“Aragaki,” Mitsuru starts, taking a sip of her tea. “Are you a fan of ghost stories?”

There’s a pause, a sense of hesitation before Shinjiro responds. “Why are you askin’?”

“Oh, I was just curious,” she says, setting her cup down on her saucer with a soft _clink_. “You are aware of the get together with our friends, yes?”

“...Yeah.”

“I was hoping to run my own story by you just to ensure it is of quality for when we gather around to tell stories.”

There’s another pause of hesitation. They both know Shinjiro hates ghost stories, but also that Shinjiro would never admit to it.

“...Sure, why not. Lay it on me.”

The story of the Jorogumo sent shivers down Shinjiro’s spine and Mitsuru can’t help the sly grin on her features as she goes to take a sip from her tea again, knowing she successfully scared Shinjiro.


	15. celebrate

**thirty one. celebrate** — _amada ken & aragaki shinjiro_

“Come on, Shinji!” Ken calls, stopping from where he has run ahead with Koromaru at his side. He’s dressed as Red Eagle from his favorite show. Koromaru is dressed in the pumpkin costume Ken had picked out at the beginning of the month.

Shinjiro’s in the vampire costume Mitsuru paid for. He still wasn’t too happy about that.

He was happy though Ken finally relented on his name usage.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Shinjiro says, examining his phone briefly.

_Aki: How long do you think you guys still have?  
_ _Aki: People are already arriving for the party_

He types back a response.

_Shinji: Probably another hour or something  
_ _Shinji: Letting the kid have his fun_

With that, Shinjiro pockets his phone and picks up his pace to follow after Ken. “Don’t get too far ahead, Ken. The crowds get worse the closer you get to all the main street celebrations and stuff.”

“I won’t, I promise!”

Ken is sporting a large grin and happy laughter as he sees all the decorations and other people’s costumes.

It has to be contagious, because Shinjiro is smiling too, glad to see Ken is enjoying himself for once.


End file.
